10 Most Heroic Things Disney Princes Have Ever Done

It’s 2020, and Disney princesses are thankfully no longer in need of princes to come to their rescue. With movies like Brave, Frozen and Moana, Disney has proven that we can have strong female characters who do not need to be saved by a love interest.

With that said, one must admit that certain Disney princes have been pretty heroic characters over the course of many decades, having slain dragons, broken spells, and yes, rescued the women that they loved, too. We want to celebrate the valiant acts from the Disney princes who saved the day one way or another.

10 ALADDIN DEFEATED JAFAR

Jafar is one of the most cunning and dangerous Disney villains of all time, and things got even worse once he gave himself the abilities of a genie toward the end of the 1992 animated feature Aladdin. Still, Aladdin was never afraid of standing up to Jafar in order to save his loved ones and Agrabah as a whole.

While it seemed pretty bleak for an ordinary man to defeat Jafar as an all-powerful genie, Aladdin proved that he could use his street-smart brain to get out of any situation. Unlike many of the other Disney princes, one can say with full confidence that Aladdin is also a true hero on his own merits.

9 EUGENE SAVED RAPUNZEL FROM GOTHEL

Eugene (also known as Flynn Rider) may have been a complicated Disney prince to root for during the beginning of Tangled, but he certainly came around over time. And sure, it is tough to call someone who did as many bad things as Eugene did heroic, but we should still give credit where it’s due.

All in all, Eugene was very brave when he decided to save Rapunzel from Mother Gothel, putting Rapunzel’s best interests in front of his even when facing absolute evil. While it is fair to say that Rapunzel counted on more than Eugene’s help to break free, we should still acknowledge that he acted like a hero during that instance.

8 BEAST OVERCAME HIS EGO AND LEARNED HOW TO TRUST OTHERS

Sometimes, the most heroic thing a Disney prince can do is to get out of his own way. In many ways, the most impressive and brave thing that Beast did in 1991’s Beauty and the Beast was to open his heart and mind to the help of others, only then proving himself as someone who can be loved.

Overall, the Beast only started acting like a true hero once he checked his ego at the door and learned how to listen and how to trust Belle, Lumiere, Cogsworth, and others. Because this was a huge obstacle for the Beast, it certainly took a lot of courage for him to overcome it.

7 ERIC RESCUED ARIEL WITHOUT KNOWING WHO SHE WAS

There are always going to be fans of The Little Mermaid who think that Eric falling in love with Ariel — who didn’t seem to understand simple human interactions — was a bit creepy. However, it is still very commendable that Eric rescued Ariel (when she washed up at the beach with her brand-new pair of legs) despite not knowing that this was the woman who had saved his life beforehand.

What’s more, Eric brought Ariel into his home and took care of her the entire time, showing that he was truly concerned for the girl he found lying on the beach.

6 SHANG STOPPED SHAN YU FROM KILLING THE EMPEROR

Make no mistake, the true hero in Mulan is none other than Mulan herself. With that said, we can certainly give Shang some credit for all of his help not only during Mulan’s training, but also after she revealed herself to be a woman.

One of the most heroic things we saw Shang do in the original 1998 animated feature was stopping Shan Yu from killing the Emperor. Of course, it was Mulan who actually defeated Shan Yu later, but Shang did save the Emperor’s life too.

5 PHILLIP DEFEATED MALEFICENT IN DRAGON FORM

In 1959’s Sleeping Beauty, Prince Phillip kissed a sleeping girl who might as well have been dead, which makes him a complicated Disney prince to root for. On the other hand, Phillip was very brave when he faced Maleficent, even after she transformed herself into a dragon.

Let’s give this prince some credit: Phillip acted very heroically by slaying the Maleficent dragon and saving not only Aurora, but the entire kingdom. Of course, the 2014 Maleficent reboot does tell a slightly different story.

4 NAVEEN PRIORITIZED LOVE OVER MONEY

Naveen, like Tangled’s Eugene, was not necessarily the easiest Disney prince to root for. However, over the course of The Princess and the Frog, we did get to know Naveen a little better, and he did learn a few lessons that turned him into a better person.

Toward the end of the 2009 film, Naveen was no longer a gold-digging prince who just wanted to marry rich. Instead, he prioritized his love for Tiana over anything else, even coming to terms with the fact that he was fine remaining a frog.

3 JOHN JUMPED IN FRONT OF CHIEF POWHATAN TO SAVE HIS LIFE

Disney’s Pocahontas was a huge hit when it was released in 1995, but certain audiences have since struggled with the fairy-tale depiction of a real historical figure. In any case, we can still analyze this movie and its fictionalized characters for what they are.

It is important not to frame Disney’s John Smith as a white savior of any kind, given that the Powhatan tribe was doing just fine before any of the settlers arrived there. Still, one can give John credit for the heroic act of jumping in front of Chief Powhatan in order to shield him from the musket that had been fired by Ratcliffe.

2 ALADDIN USED HIS LAST WISH TO FREE THE GENIE

As stated, heroic acts by Disney princes are not all about rescuing princesses. For example, one of the most daring and admirable things that Aladdin did in the original animated movie was using his last wish to free the Genie.

Earlier in the film, it had been established that many of the Genie’s past masters promised that they’d use a wish to free him, only to ask for something that would serve their interests later. Aladdin, however, now finally understood that everything he ever needed was either already inside of him or right in front of him.

As Aladdin and the Genie developed such a deep bond throughout the movie, it was definitely heart-warming to see Al owning up to his promise.

1 ERIC DEFEATED URSULA

Eric is often remembered as one of the best Disney princes of all time, and one of his most heroic acts was defeating a massive and all-powerful Ursula as she gained full control of King Triton’s powers.

At that point in the film, it didn’t seem like defeating Ursula was the job for an ordinary human being. However, Eric still found a way to steer the wrecked ship into the sea witch, defeating her for good.

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Bernardo Sim
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Bernardo Sim writes about TV shows, queer culture, & Brazilian media. Born and raised in the Amazon, he now lives in South Florida. he/him

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